Raising Capital: What’s Required? Strategy and the 3Cs, Part Two

Now that we’ve given you a brief overview the Outline Business Plan, let’s get into the details of two of the main components: defining your product and your Compelling Case for Customers™.

Your Product

Defining your product may not sound like a big deal, but it’s a critical piece of your success. It’s the beginning of virtually everything that you do in your business. Many companies—especially startups—don’t have a product definition that communicates exactly what they are selling to their target customers.

What is your product or service? Can you describe it in twenty seconds? Ten seconds? If it takes you more time than this, you don’t have your description honed sufficiently to grab the attention of your audience and make a great impression. Make it shorter; boil it down to its essential elements.

To do this, ask new questions about your product and don’t accept your existing beliefs. Start by answering the below questions from the perspective of a skeptical customer, not someone who is thoroughly involved in and fully supports the product. Write a paragraph or more for each without editing as you answer these questions:

Why would I buy this product?
What’s great about it?
What problems does it solve?
Why is it better than other products that are available?

Getting a firm handle on defining your product is the first step in establishing your 3Cs: Your Compelling Case for Customers.

The 3Cs

Hopefully, you’ll find common themes as you read through your answers to the above questions. Years ago, we realized that in order to sell a product successfully, there must be “essential reasons” why a customer will buy a product. From these essential reasons, we defined and coined the 3Cs namely, the Compelling Case for Customers.

What is Your Compelling Case for Customers?

You must answer this question if you want to run a successful start up, though we’d argue that this is crucial for every business. The 3Cs is the answer to why your target market customers will be emotionally drawn to or compelled to buy what you are selling. While this may sound easy, it can be quite challenging to define your Compelling Case for Customers.

Next week, using the product information you defined above, we’ll take you into product features and benefits and how you will use those to define your Compelling Case for Customers. Until then!

All The Best,